Cooling device for fats



AP 30 1940 J. Bmx-HANSEN CGOLING DEVICE FOR FATS Filed June 4, .195s l Cil Patented lApr. 30, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT. oFFiE COOLING DEVICE FOR. FATS John Blix-Hansen, Lyngby, Denmark Application June 4, 1938, Serial No. 211,960

In Denmark 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in cooling devices, particularly of the kind employed in the cooling of liquid fats, as for instance edible fats and fat emulsions, which during their 5 cooling are transformed to a viscid, plastic or solid form. The present device comprises mainly two bodies of which the one is arranged around the other, and which has two Concentrically or approximately concentrically disposed cooled rotation surfaces so spaced in relation to each other that there is formed an annular space between them, in which the substance to be cooled is convveyed by pressure, and. in which there is disposed an operative member that actuates the substance. During the conveyance of the substance over the cooled surfaces its content of heat is trans-l mitted to these surfaces, and it is therefore of essential importance for an effective transmission of heat that as great a portion of the substance as possible contacts directly with the surfaces during its conveyance between them.

In devices of this kind of hitherto known construction it has already been proposed to employ mixing or conveying members that are rotated within the space between the cooled rotation surfaces of the bodies, and which members during their action agitate and/or convey the substance to be cooled between the surfaces with the object of producing an intimate contact between these surfaces and the substance. The cooling has, however, the effect that the fats are liable to form congealed layers settling on the cooling surfaces, which layer in even only a very thin form has a high heat-insulating effect and reduces the capacity of .the device to an essential degree.

The said inconvenience is most prominent in the cooling of pure fats and emulsions containing a high percentage of fat,'and under adverse conditions it may to some extent hinder-the operation of the device, as it has been found that the agitation of the substance performed by the operative members `of known construction between the cooling surfaces does not effectively prevent the formation of the said layers of fat settling on these surfaces.

The object of the present invention is to provide June 18, 1937 (c1. 62;-1'14) In this manner the formation of a settled layer of fat on the cooling surfaces is prevented, and the surfaces are continually and alternately cleaned of the cooled substance and again covered with new, non-cooled substance, while the 5 substance scraped off is continually mixed with the main flow of substance that is being conveyed through the space, and this is by means of the scraping members gradually brought to contact with the cooling surfaces.

According to the invention the operative member is preferably constructed in the form of a drum that is rotatably journaled between the bodies, and on which drum each scraping member is arranged at one or several apertures 16 formed in the drum. Some of the Scrapers are bent inwardly to rest yieldingly against the innermost cooling surface, while other Scrapers are bent outwardly to rest yieldingly against the outermost cooling surface, to the effect that the 20 substance scraped off by means of the Scrapers from the one surface is pressed through the adje cent apertures towards the other surface and vice versa. In this manner there is obtained an effective mixing of the substance.

l The invention is furthermore characterized by several details which are described in the following description. y

In the accompanying drawing the invention is illustrated in various modifications in connection with an upright cooling device, and

Fig. 1 is an axial section through the device,

Fig. 2 a cross section on a larger scale through a portion of the cooling surfaces and the part of the drum with scraping members thereon disposed 3 5 between these surfaces,

Fig. 3 a portion of the drum illustrated in Fig. 2 with scraping members formed therein,

Fig. 4 a modified manner of construction of the drum and scraping members, 40

Fig. 5 on a larger scale a cross section through a portion of a drum like that shown i-n Fig. 4 with scraping members attached thereto,

Fig.'6 another modification ofthe drum, and

Fig. 7 a sectional view on line VII-VII in Fig. 6.V 45

With reference to Figs, 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing I indicates a hollow upright cylindrical body provided with an exterior rotation surface Ia and within which there is disposed an integral open central core 2. Between the core 2 and the inte- 50 rior surface of the body I there is formed a compartment 3 through which a cooling medium circulates. Concentrically in relation to the body I there is arranged another cylindrical body 4 having an interior rotation surface 4a. The body 4 55 is surrounded by a jacket 5, and between this and the body 4 a cooling medium circulates. Between the exterior surface Ia of the body and the interior surface 4a. of the body 4 there is a comparatively narrow annular space 6 Within which there is journaled a cylindrical drum 1 that carries a number of scraping members 8 and 9. As shown in Fig. 2 and 3 these scraping members are formed as knives produced by bending cut-out portions of the drum surface, and the knives are so disposed that those indicated by 8 are bent inwardly and rest with their scraping edge yieldingly against the exterior rotation surface Ia of the body I, while' the knives indicated by 9 are bent outwardly and rest with their scraping edge yieldingly against the interior surface 4a of the other body 4. At its upper end the drum 1 has an end plate I0 that is xed to a shaft II journaled in a bearing in the upper end of the core 2, and which end plate has a number of perforations I2. At its lower end the body I is provided with a flange I3 by means of which it is connected to another ange I4 formed on the body 4. To the lower side of the flange I3 there is rigidly connected a frame I 5 provided with a bearing I6 for the shaft II. l

In operation the liquid substance to be cooled is forced from the lower end of the device into the compartment or space 6 through an inlet pipe I1, while at the same time a cooling medium, for instance cold brine, circulates through the compartment 3 and through the space between the jacket 5 and the body 4. The drum is rotated by means of the shaft I I in such a direction, that the scraping members carried by the drum are moved in the direction indicated by the arrow at the right end of Fig. 2, so that during their progression they scrape off any substance which during the flow of substance through the space 6 settles on the cooled rotation surfaces la. and 4a. As indicated by the curved arrows in Fig. 2 the substance that is removed by means of the knives 8 is so displaced as to become mixed with the substance flowing along the surface 4a, while the substance removed by means of the knives 9 is so displaced as to become mixed with the substance flowing along the surface Ia. Preferably the knives are so disposed that the cooled surfaces are scraped throughout their entire extent. In this manner there is obtained a mixing of the substance during its ow through the space 6 so that practically the entire mass passing through the said space is for a shorter or longer time brought into direct contact with the cooled sur- ,faces and is thus given an intense and uniform cooling. The substance conveyed between the surface la and the inner surface of the drum 1 is carried out of the drum through the apertures I2 in the end plate III and that conveyed between .the surface 4a and the outer surface of the drum is carried out through the space between the end plate I0 and the frame I4.

'I'he device described Ain the foregoing may form a part of a machine for subsequent treatment of the substance in question, which in this case after having lefty the space Ii is conveyed up to another section indicated by I8 of the machine, or the device may form an independent unit.

The scraper member disposed between the two rotation surfaces Ia and 4a within the space Ii, is formed to conform with the space between these surfaces. The knives 8 and 9 may be made of any adequate material, and they may be attached to the member by means of screws, bolts or rivets as described in the following in order to allow their exchange when worn out.

In Figs. 4 and 5 there is shown a modied construction of a scraper member in the shape of a drum I9, in the wall of which there are formed a number of longitudinal apertures 20. To the parts 2| of the drum between the longitudinal apertures 20 a number of scraping members 22 and 23 are attached by means of studs 24. The position of the scraping members may be such that they either counteract or contribute to the conveyance of the substance through the device.

'Ihe apertures 20 provide the openings through which the substance may pass from the one cooled rotation surface to the other.

In another modication of the invention there is shown in Figs. 6 and 1 a drum-like rotation member constituting an upper plate 24, provided with'a centrally disposed bush 25 by means of which the plate is attached to the shaft II, and a lower ring 26, which plate and ring are interconnected by means of a number of peripherally disposed rods 21. -To these rods there are attached scraper members 28 and 29 in such a manner that the 4scraper members are inserted within longitudinal slits formed in the rods 21 and fixed therein by means of suitable clamping means. The scraping members are so disposed that when the rotation member is inserted between the rotation surfacesla and 4a of a device as for instance that lshown in Fig. l, the scraping members 28 attached to one rod 21 rest yieldingly with their scraping edge against the surface 4a, while the scraping members 29 attached to the next rod 21 rest yieldingly with their scraping edge against the surface Ia. The substance under treatment passes from the one cooled rotation surface to the other through the spaces between the rods 21.

I declare that what I claim is:

1. In a cooling device for cooling liquid fats, for instance edible fats and fat emulsions, the combination of a cooling chamber, an open central core formed integral with said chamber and having a shaft journalled therein, means for circulating a cooling medium through said chamber, a hollow jacket surrounding the cooling chamber and forming therewith a narrow space, means for circulating a cooling medium through the interior of the hollow jacket, a drum fastened to said shaft and provided with a number of apertures in the surface thereof and being disposed for rotation within said narrow space, an end plate at the one extremity of the drum and provided with apertures, means for rotating the shaft, scraping members projecting from the inner side of the drum for coacting with the outer surface of the cooling chamber and other scraping members projecting from the outer surface of the drum for coacting with the inner surface of the hollow jacket.

2. A cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the scraping members constitute incised circumferential portions of the drum surface, some of which are bent outwardly to coact with the inner surface of the hollow jacket, and others of which are bent inwardly from the drum surface to coact with the outer surface of the cooling chamber.

3. A cooling device as claimed in claim 1, Wherein the drum surface constitutes a plurality of relatively spaced longitudinal elements, to which the scraping members are attached by means of xing studs. Y Y

4. In a cooling device for cooling liquid fats,

aromas. v 3

the combination ot-a cooling chamber, an lopenV central core formed integral with said chamber' and having a shaft journalled therein, means for circulating a cooling mediumrthrough saidchamber, a hollow jacket surrounding the cooling .chamber and forming therewith a. narrowl spacel means for circulating a cooling medium through the interior of the hollow jacket, an end plate rotatably mounted on said shaft, a ring, rodsinter connecting ma end plate 'and said ring and dis- `posed within said narrow space, scraping'members ailixed to some of said rodsV for coacting with cooling chamber. v

l JOHN BRR-HANSEN. 

